This invention relates to rearview mirrors, and in particular to a retractable side view mirror for vehicles.
Side view mirrors are available for automobiles, trucks, and certain other types of vehicles to permit the driver of the vehicle to observe objects to his rear, such as towed implements, trailing traffic, and the like. When very wide and tall objects are towed behind the vehicle, they often block the line of the sight of the driver through the side view mirror, and thereby render the mirror totally ineffective.
This type of problem is particularly acute in the field of agriculture, because large implements such as grain carts, drawn implements, hay wagons, and the like are commonly towed behind a slow-moving farm tractor. Side view mirrors for such vehicles are preferably adjustable in length so as to extend the mirror outwardly of the implement a distance sufficient to obtain clear vision. Side view mirrors for this purpose are also preferably retractable to permit the tractor and implement to safely pass through narrow paths, such as gate openings, private drives, and the like. Heretofore, such devices were complicated and expensive in construction, inconvenient to operate, and not sufficiently stable to retain the mirror in a steady position. Further, because such devices extend outwardly from the vehicle, they are quite susceptible to being inadvertently hit by an object, such as a fence post, a building, or passing vehicle, thereby causing severe damage to the mirror, and creating a substantial safety hazard.